Associated symptoms

Usually patients report pain associated with the broken tooth. However, there are a number of other typical symptoms that can occur. Most often, sharp corners are formed at the edges of the fracture where the tongue can get stuck.

People like to play around with these edges, which can lead to the tongue becoming slightly inflamed and painful. If the broken off piece between the teeth is missing, it can happen that various food remains, especially meat fibres, accumulate there. These are often difficult to remove and you will have to use interdental brushes or dental floss.

Sensitivity to biting, percussion and temperature, especially to cold, occurs when a large piece has broken out of the molar. Depending on the type of the causal injury, it is even possible that the tooth is mobile and wobbles. This can sometimes give the feeling that the tooth is too long or too short. This happens when the tooth is pushed in or out of its socket.

Pain

If a molar tooth breaks off, the tooth may suddenly cause pain. This is the case when the fracture is close to the tooth cavity and the “living tissue” of the tooth, i.e. the dentin, is affected. Sometimes even the nerve itself is exposed.

If this happens and severe pain develops, treatment must be carried out as soon as possible. Otherwise the disease can spread even more and an inflammation around the root can occur. As this can lead to major complications, a visit to the doctor immediately is recommended.

and what you can do about it. If pain occurs at the broken tooth, you should act quickly. Not only does it affect the aesthetics, but further complications could occur on the untreated tooth, which could worsen the prognosis.

For temporary pain relief, painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol can be taken. It is also possible to cool the area to prevent swelling. If the area bleeds excessively, it may help to bite on a handkerchief, for example, to stop the bleeding.

The pain caused by a broken tooth cannot be permanently relieved without dental treatment. If only a small piece of hard tooth substance breaks off from the molar tooth and the gap is far away from the tooth nerve (in the enamel), this often causes no pain. In many cases where a tooth is broken off, it is a tooth that has already been filled over a large area.

There is no pain, because usually only a piece of the filling material breaks off. Even if the hard tooth substance of root canal treated teeth is broken off, there is often no pain, because the nerve of the tooth has already been removed and therefore no pain transmission takes place. If there is no pain when a molar tooth is broken off, you should still visit a dentist to smooth the edges of the break, to reattach the tooth fragment or to fill the tooth.